Ocean Wind could make his mark on the Flat this season

Nick Grant
April 12, 2020 1:30 pm

Champion Bumper sixth lost little in defeat at Cheltenham.

Ocean Wind could be tried on the Flat this season following his excellent effort in the Weatherbys Champion Bumper at Cheltenham.

Winner of two of his three bumpers prior to heading to the Festival, the Roger Teal-trained four-year-old finished sixth to Ferny Hollow and was second home of the British-trained runners.

Teal – who has a smart team of horses for the season ahead – said: “He’s gone away on holiday and will be coming back soon. We’re hoping we’ll give him a bit of a go on the Flat and see what he’s like.

“Like a few of them he’s very exciting, he’s done us the world of good and if he’s got the pace for the Flat he could be very exciting in those staying races. If not, we can go back novice hurdling with him.”

Better ground at Cheltenham might even have seen a better result.

Teal added: “It was a great run in those conditions and I still say if he’d got near those front five – don’t get me wrong, he wouldn’t have won – I think he would have been battling for a place, but he was just in no man’s land a bit.

“He made his move and got away from the rest of them, but he couldn’t get to the leading five. He was still a bit green up the run-in and his ears were pricked. He just needed something to race with and I think he would have found a bit more.

“I think he would have been scrapping for a place if he’d got upsides one, but he was eight lengths clear of the rest of them.”